HAMILTON — There will be a new guy in the offensive backfield for both teams on Saturday afternoon when the Calgary Stampeders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats tangle at McMaster University.

The merry-go-round continues for the Stamps as Hugh Charles jumped on, ready to give it a whirl at running back hopefully without succumbing to injury. As for the Ticats, C.J. Gable will miss the game, his place taken by a rookie out of Oklahoma named Mossis Madu.

“Not a whole lot,” said Stamps’ GM-head coach John Hufnagel when asked what he knows about Madu. “He’s got some pro experience. He’s a skilled back. He’ll do the same things they try to do with C.J. We’ll have to be ready for him.”

Madu, 26, was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a season and also signed on with the New York Jets for a short time.

“Excited. Yeah, I’m excited,” said Madu with a grin. “I’m not just coming into a new team. Here’s the playbook, good luck learning it! I’ve been here for a while. It’s just going to be another game for me.

“I just want to go out there and have fun, to tell you the truth. I haven’t started since high school. I played in plenty of college games, but this will be my first start. I just want to make it day to remember and have fun out there.”

The comparisons to Gable are inevitable.

“He’s a big body,” said the 6-foot, 197-pound Madu. “I’m not as big as him so I’m going to do a couple of different things, make guys miss a little bit more, maybe not take as many hits as he does.”

The Ticats received good news in that Gable’s foot injury isn’t as bad as first feared, but in the meantime they seem quite confident in his replacement.

“He’s smart,” said head coach Kent Austin. “He’ll stick his nose in there. There’s not many like C.J. as far as protection in this league. We feel we have another back in Madu who is similar in that he’s proficient in all three phases.”

McMaster memories coming back

There’s no one on this Stampders’ team that knows the field at McMaster University better than alumni Ben D’Aguilar. But truth be told, the defensive lineman was rather hoping not to return.

“I was looking forward to playing in the new stadium,” D’Aguilar said with a sigh. “I was disappointed in that. Tim Hortons Field, yeah man, and then, oh, we’re going back to my old school. I didn’t even know it a couple of days before the game either.”

Regardless of the venue, the second-year man should have himself a ready-made cheering section.

“Potentially,” he said, “but a lot of people who are cheering for me are diehard Ticats fans, so we’re going to have a two-faced crowd out there. Hopefully my family holds true to me.”

With Tim Hortons Field still looking more like a construction zone than a football stadium, chances are good the Ticats will be getting more use out of McMaster. The problem is, of course, that the CIS season is also just around the corner, so if may get pretty crowded in there.

Stamps wary of Cats

They come so close yet haven’t been rewarded for their efforts. That should make these Cats a dangerous animal.

“I think they’ll be pumped for the game,” said Hufnagel, whose squad was a 10-7 victor the last time they met. “They’re desperate for a win. They’ve played good football. But again we don’t look at people’s records. We look at the team that we’re playing, the players, the schemes that they use. We go out and respect every opponent, no matter what their record is because anybody can beat anybody any day. So they’ll be fired up, and it’ll be a difficult game for us.”

Extra yards

As expected, Sederrik Cunningham will slot in for the injured Jock Sanders on kick returns … Hard-luck running back Martell Mallett, who just returned to action after various ailments after two years out of the game, has been placed on the six-game injured list with a groin injury … Junior Turner and Quinn Smith will fill the shoes of Corey Mace at defensive tackle, while Edwin Harrison assumes Stanley Bryant’s spot at left guard.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.